2009 Andrew Murray Vineyards Tous Les Jours Syrah

There is nothing like finding a wine that fits in your everyday price range that you really enjoy.  Lets face it, finding good wine is not that hard with an unlimited budget, but not too many of us out there are in that situation.  The rest of us must be able to find wines that are delicious and interesting that we can actually afford.  So the big question is how to find these value wines that drink really well. 

For me, I have two main types of sources.    The first is finding great retailers which is a whole subject in itself that I've blogged about before http://acoupleofwines.blogspot.com/2010/02/to-find-great-wine-you-need-to-find.html  The other way I find great wines and great values is by reading other wine blogs.  If you can find a small group of bloggers who just plain make sense to you after reading a few of their posts, then you should be able to find some nice wines through their posts.  Today's subject is a wine that I learned about through a blog that primarily focuses on everyday value wines.  Written by Jon Thorsen, another plain old wine consumer/lover like me, its a great source for everyday wines.  I also love that Jon doesn't just taste wines and write about them, he actually drinks them.  It's a subtle distinction but I think its important to the everyday wine consumer.  You can find his blog here http://www.reversewinesnob.com/   

The 2009 Andrew Murray Vineyards Tous Les Jours Syrah is deep purple in color.  The nose brings really pure aromas of blackberry fruit with a nice black pepper element and just a slightest hint of game to it.  On the palate you get the same blackberry fruit up front, but the fun doesn't end there.  Decent acidity and very smooth tannins provide just enough structure to set this apart from many other Syrahs in this price range, and what really makes it shine is a very long, peppery finish that is very unusual for a bottle that I picked up for only $16.  Unfortunately the 2009 is sold out, but the 2010 vintage is now available on the Andrew Murray website http://www.andrewmurrayvineyards.com/ for the same $16 price.  I'm hoping it will be just as good. 

From a pairing standpoint, this would go well with grilled red meats, BBQ, and definitely with venison or lamb.  For a price of only $16, though, it works really well if you just pair it with a nice red wine glass. 

Cheers!